Identification of people as search results from key-word based searches of content in a cloud-based environment

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are disclosed for identifying users of a collaboration system as search results. In one embodiment, the system performs a text-based content search of content items to identify relevant content. The disclosed system stores metadata associated with the content that includes various user information. The user information can be used to facilitate identification of relevant individuals (users or collaborators) as search results, in addition to or in lieu of, relevant content.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority to and benefit from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/668,698 titled “IDENTIFICATION OF PEOPLE AS SEARCH RESULTS FROM KEY-WORD BASED SEARCHES OF CONTENT” (Attorney Docket No. 61599-8037.US00), filed on Jul. 6, 2012, the content of which is incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

The ever-increasing computing power and widespread use of a variety of audio/visual equipment (e.g., smart phones equipped with microphones, audio and/or video recorders, high definition signal outputs, and cameras) has made multimedia files more and more integrated in all aspects of everyday life. As such, there is a need to effectively manage, store, search, and share multimedia files in various environments including enterprise-based, individual user, or social settings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example diagram of a system having a host server of a cloud service and/or cloud storage accounts with capabilities that enable identification of users as search results responsive text-searching.

FIG. 2 depicts a diagram of a web-based or online collaboration platform deployed in an enterprise or other organizational setting for organizing work items and workspaces, as one example of a hosted cloud service and/or cloud storage accounts with capabilities that enable identification of users as search results responsive text-searching.

FIG. 3 depicts an example diagram of a workspace in a cloud-based, online or web-based collaboration environment accessible by multiple collaborators through various devices authorized to access the work space.

FIG. 4 depicts a block diagram illustrating an example of components in a host server for cloud-based services (e.g. collaboration or storage accounts), the host server including a people search engine facilitating identification of users as search results responsive text-searching.

FIG. 5 depicts a block diagram illustrating an example of components in a people search engine facilitating identification of users as search results responsive text-searching.

FIGS. 6A and 6B depict tables graphically illustrating example metadata associated with content items and action weighting, respectively.

FIG. 7 depicts a flow diagram illustrating an example process for tracking actions associated with a content item and responsively updating metadata associated with the content item.

FIG. 8 depicts a flow diagram illustrating an example process for identifying and providing collaborators as search results in a collaborative cloud-based collaboration environment.

FIG. 9 depicts a flow diagram illustrating an example process for processing metadata including collaborator information associated with a content item in a collaborative cloud-based collaboration environment.

FIG. 10 depicts a diagrammatic representation of a machine in the example form of a computer system within which a set of instructions, for causing the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, may be executed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description and drawings are illustrative and are not to be construed as limiting. Numerous specific details are described to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosure. However, in certain instances, well-known or conventional details are not described in order to avoid obscuring the description. References to one or an embodiment in the present disclosure can be, but not necessarily are, references to the same embodiment; and, such references mean at least one of the embodiments.

Reference in this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the disclosure. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Moreover, various features are described which may be exhibited by some embodiments and not by others. Similarly, various requirements are described which may be requirements for some embodiments but not other embodiments.

The terms used in this specification generally have their ordinary meanings in the art, within the context of the disclosure, and in the specific context where each term is used. Certain terms that are used to describe the disclosure are discussed below, or elsewhere in the specification, to provide additional guidance to the practitioner regarding the description of the disclosure. For convenience, certain terms may be highlighted, for example using italics and/or quotation marks. The use of highlighting has no influence on the scope and meaning of a term; the scope and meaning of a term is the same, in the same context, whether or not it is highlighted. It will be appreciated that same thing can be said in more than one way.

Consequently, alternative language and synonyms may be used for any one or more of the terms discussed herein, nor is any special significance to be placed upon whether or not a term is elaborated or discussed herein. Synonyms for certain terms are provided. A recital of one or more synonyms does not exclude the use of other synonyms. The use of examples anywhere in this specification including examples of any terms discussed herein is illustrative only, and is not intended to further limit the scope and meaning of the disclosure or of any exemplified term. Likewise, the disclosure is not limited to various embodiments given in this specification.

Without intent to limit the scope of the disclosure, examples of instruments, apparatus, methods and their related results according to the embodiments of the present disclosure are given below. Note that titles or subtitles may be used in the examples for convenience of a reader, which in no way should limit the scope of the disclosure. Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains. In the case of conflict, the present document, including definitions will control.

Embodiments of the present disclosure include systems and methods for identifying users of a system as search results responsive to a text-based content searches. By way of example, and not limitation, the examples discussed herein are primarily directed to providing collaborators as search results in a collaborative cloud-based environment. However, the techniques discussed herein are not limited to collaborative cloud-based environments and can be applied to any system utilizing a content-based search.

When searching using a text-based content search (e.g., using a set of keywords) the typical result is a set of content items (e.g., documents) relevant to the content search (or keywords). In one embodiment, the disclosed system stores metadata associated with the content that that includes user information. The user information can be used to facilitate identification of relevant individuals (user or collaborators) as search results, in addition to or in lieu of relevant content.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example diagram of a system having a host server of a cloud service and/or cloud storage accounts with capabilities that enable identification of users as search results responsive text-searching.

The client devices 102 can be any system and/or device, and/or any combination of devices/systems that is able to establish a connection, including wired, wireless, cellular connections with another device, a server and/or other systems such as host server 105 and/or people search engine 150. Client devices 102 will typically include a display and/or other output functionalities to present information and data exchanged between among the devices 102 and/or the host server 105 and/or people search engine 150.

For example, the client devices 102 can include mobile, hand held or portable devices or non-portable devices and can be any of, but not limited to, a server desktop, a desktop computer, a computer cluster, or portable devices including, a notebook, a laptop computer, a handheld computer, a palmtop computer, a mobile phone, a cell phone, a smart phone, a PDA, a Blackberry device, a Treo, a handheld tablet (e.g. an iPad, a Galaxy, Xoom Tablet, etc.), a tablet PC, a thin-client, a hand held console, a hand held gaming device or console, an iPhone, and/or any other portable, mobile, hand held devices, etc. running on any platform or any operating system (e.g., Mac-based OS (OS X, iOS, etc.), Windows-based OS (Windows Mobile, Windows 7, etc.), Android, Blackberry OS, Embedded Linux platforms, Palm OS, Symbian platform. In one embodiment, the client devices 102, host server 105, and app server 110 are coupled via a network 106. In some embodiments, the devices 102 and host server 100 may be directly connected to one another.

The input mechanism on client devices 102 can include touch screen keypad (including single touch, multi-touch, gesture sensing in 2D or 3D, etc.), a physical keypad, a mouse, a pointer, a track pad, motion detector (e.g., including 1-axis, 2-axis, 3-axis accelerometer, etc.), a light sensor, capacitance sensor, resistance sensor, temperature sensor, proximity sensor, a piezoelectric device, device orientation detector (e.g., electronic compass, tilt sensor, rotation sensor, gyroscope, accelerometer), or a combination of the above.

Signals received or detected indicating user activity at client devices 102 through one or more of the above input mechanism, or others, can be used in the disclosed technology by various users or collaborators (e.g., collaborators 108) for accessing, through network 106, a web-based collaboration environment or online collaboration platform (e.g., hosted by the host server 100).

The collaboration platform or environment hosts workspaces with work items that one or more users can access (e.g., view, edit, update, revise, comment, download, preview, tag, or otherwise manipulate, etc.). A work item can generally include any type of digital or electronic content that can be viewed or accessed via an electronic device (e.g., device 102). The digital content can include .pdf files, .doc, slides (e.g., Powerpoint slides), images, audio files, multimedia content, web pages, blogs, etc. A workspace can generally refer to any grouping of a set of digital content in the collaboration platform. The grouping can be created, identified, or specified by a user or through other means. This user may be a creator user or administrative user, for example.

In general, a workspace can be associated with a set of users or collaborators (e.g., collaborators 108) which have access to the content included therein. The levels of access (e.g., based on permissions or rules) of each user or collaborator to access the content in a given workspace may be the same or may vary among the users. Each user may have their own set of access rights to every piece of content in the workspace, or each user may be different access rights to different pieces of content. Access rights may be specified by a user associated with a work space and/or a user who created/uploaded a particular piece of content to the workspace, or any other designated user or collaborator.

In general, the collaboration platform allows multiple users or collaborators to access or collaborate efforts on work items such each user can see, remotely, edits, revisions, comments, or annotations being made to specific work items through their own user devices. For example, a user can upload a document to a work space for other users to access (e.g., for viewing, editing, commenting, signing-off, or otherwise manipulating). The user can login to the online platform and upload the document (or any other type of work item) to an existing work space or to a new work space. The document can be shared with existing users or collaborators in a work space.

A diagrammatic illustration of the online collaboration environment and the relationships between workspaces and users/collaborators are illustrated with further reference to the example of FIG. 2. A diagrammatic illustration of a workspace having multiple work items with which collaborators can access through multiple devices is illustrated with further reference to the example of FIG. 3.

In one embodiment, client devices 102 communicate with the host server 105 and/or people search engine 150 over network 106. In general, network 106, over which the client devices 102, the host server 105, and/or people search engine 150 communicate, may be a cellular network, a telephonic network, an open network, such as the Internet, or a private network, such as an intranet and/or the extranet, or any combination thereof. For example, the Internet can provide file transfer, remote log in, email, news, RSS, cloud-based services, instant messaging, visual voicemail, push mail, VoIP, and other services through any known or convenient protocol, such as, but is not limited to the TCP/IP protocol, Open System Interconnections (OSI), FTP, UPnP, iSCSI, NSF, ISDN, PDH, RS-232, SDH, SONET, etc.

The network 106 can be any collection of distinct networks operating wholly or partially in conjunction to provide connectivity to the client devices 102 and the host server 100 and may appear as one or more networks to the serviced systems and devices. In one embodiment, communications to and from the client devices 102 can be achieved by, an open network, such as the Internet, or a private network, such as an intranet and/or the extranet. In one embodiment, communications can be achieved by a secure communications protocol, such as secure sockets layer (SSL), or transport layer security (TLS).

In addition, communications can be achieved via one or more networks, such as, but are not limited to, one or more of WiMax, a Local Area Network (LAN), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), a Personal area network (PAN), a Campus area network (CAN), a Metropolitan area network (MAN), a Wide area network (WAN), a Wireless wide area network (WWAN), enabled with technologies such as, by way of example, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Personal Communications Service (PCS), Digital Advanced Mobile Phone Service (D-Amps), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Fixed Wireless Data, 2G, 2.5G, 3G, 4G, IMT-Advanced, pre-4G, 3G LTE, 3GPP LTE, LTE Advanced, mobile WiMax, WiMax 2, WirelessMAN-Advanced networks, enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (EDGE), General packet radio service (GPRS), enhanced GPRS, iBurst, UMTS, HSPDA, HSUPA, HSPA, UMTS-TDD, 1xRTT, EV-DO, messaging protocols such as, TCP/IP, SMS, MMS, extensible messaging and presence protocol (XMPP), real time messaging protocol (RTMP), instant messaging and presence protocol (IMPP), instant messaging, USSD, IRC, or any other wireless data networks or messaging protocols.

FIG. 2 depicts a diagram of a web-based or online collaboration platform deployed in an enterprise or other organizational setting 250 for organizing work items 215, 235, 255 and workspaces 205, 225, 245, as one example of a hosted cloud file sharing, collaboration service and/or cloud storage service with capabilities that enable identification of users as search results responsive text-searching.

The web-based platform for collaborating on projects or jointly working on documents can be used by individual users and shared among collaborators. In addition, the collaboration platform can be deployed in an organized setting including but not limited to, a company (e.g., an enterprise setting), a department in a company, an academic institution, a department in an academic institution, a class or course setting, or any other types of organizations or organized setting.

When deployed in an organizational setting, multiple workspaces (e.g., workspace A-N) may be created to support different projects or a variety of work flows. Each workspace may have its own associate work items. For example, work space A 205 may be associated with work items 215, work space B 225 may be associated with work items 235, and work space N may be associated with work items 255. The work items 215, 235, and 255 may be unique to each work space but need not be. For example, a particular word document may be associated with only one work space (e.g., work space A 205) or it may be associated with multiple work spaces (e.g., Work space A 205 and work space B 225, etc.).

In general, each work space has a set of users or collaborators associated with it. For example, work space A 205 is associated with multiple users or collaborators 206. In some instances, work spaces deployed in an enterprise may be department specific. For example, work space B may be associated with department 210 and some users shown as example user A 208 and workspace N 245 may be associated with departments 212 and 216 and users shown as example user B 214.

Each user associated with a work space may generally access the work items associated with the work space. The level of access may depend on permissions associated with the specific work space, and/or with a specific work item. Permissions may be set for the work space or set individually on a per work item basis. For example, the creator of a work space (e.g., one of user A 208 who creates work space B) may set one permission setting applicable to all work items 235 for other associated users and/or users associated with the affiliate department 210, for example. Creator user A 208 may also set different permission settings for each work item, which may be the same for different users, or varying for different users.

In each work space A, B, . . . , N, when an action is performed on a work item by a given user or any other activity is detected in the work space, other users in the same work space may be notified (e.g., in real time or in near real time, or not in real time). Activities which trigger real time notifications can include, by way of example but not limitation, adding, deleting, or modifying collaborators in the work space, uploading, downloading, adding, deleting a work item in the work space, creating a discussion topic in the work space.

Specifically, items or content (content items) downloaded or edited in accordance with the techniques described in the present disclosure can cause notifications to be generated. Such notifications can be sent to relevant users to notify them of actions surrounding a download, an edit, a change, a modification, a new file, a conflicting version, an upload of an edited or modified file.

In one embodiment, in a user interface of the web-based collaboration platform where notifications are presented, users can, via the user interface, create action items (e.g., tasks) and delegate the action items to other users including collaborators pertaining to a work item 215, for example. The collaborators 206 may be in the same workspace A 205 or the user may include a newly invited collaborator. Similarly, in the same user interface where discussion topics can be created in a work space (e.g., work space A, B or N, etc.), actionable events on work items can be created and/or delegated/assigned to other users such as collaborators of a given work space 206 or other users. Through the same user interface, task status and updates from multiple users or collaborators can be indicated and reflected. In some instances, the users can perform the tasks (e.g., review or approve or reject, etc.) via the same user interface.

FIG. 3 depicts an example diagram of a workspace 302 in an online or web-based collaboration environment accessible by multiple collaborators 322 through various devices authorized to access the work space.

Each of users 316, 318, and 320 may individually use multiple different devices to access and/or manipulate work items 324 (e.g., content items) in the work space 302 with which they are associated with. For example users 316, 318, 320 may be collaborators on a project to which work items 324 are relevant. Since the work items 324 are hosted by the collaboration environment (e.g., a cloud-based environment), each user may access the work items 324 anytime, and from any physical location using any device (e.g., including devices they own or any shared/public/loaner device).

Work items to be edited or viewed may be accessed from the workspace 302 in accordance with the platform and/or application independent mechanisms. Users may also be notified of access, edit, modification, and/or upload related-actions performed on work items 324 by other users or any other types of activities detected in the work space 302. For example, if user 316 modifies a document, one or both of the other collaborators 318 and 320 can be notified of the modification in real time, or near real-time, or not in real time. The notifications can be sent through any of all of the devices associated with a given user, in various formats including, one or more of, email, SMS, or via a pop-up window in a user interface in which the user uses to access the collaboration platform. In the event of multiple notifications, each notification may be depicted preferentially (e.g., ordering in the user interface) based on user preferences and/or relevance to the user (e.g., implicit or explicit).

For example, a notification of a download, access, read, write, edit, or upload related activities may be presented in a feed stream among other notifications through a user interface on the user device according to relevancy to the user determined based on current or recent activity of the user in the web-based collaboration environment.

In one embodiment, a notification feed stream includes updates when an invited user accepts an invitation and/or successfully creates a new account through receipt of an invitation from an existing user. The invited user, upon creation of the new account, receives the account having enhanced features. The new user can automatically be connected to the existing user who sent the invitation. The system can also automatically prompt both users to query they wish to be collaborators in a common work space.

Work items hosted by a collaboration environment (e.g., a cloud-based collaboration environment) can be accessed by users (e.g., users 316, 318, and 320) via multiple different devices (e.g., devices 304-314) for viewing, editing, processing or performing other manipulations on work items. The devices can include applications for accessing a server hosting a cloud-based platform or service or other backend web services (hereinafter “cloud-based collaboration platform application”) and applications for viewing, editing, processing, or performing other manipulations on work items. The communication between such applications are generally facilitated by a communication mechanism of the OS. For example, in Android OS, the communication mechanism is based on “Intents”. As previously described, the underlying communication mechanism are generally insecure, and any data passed between applications are visible to all other application on a device.

FIG. 4 depicts a block diagram illustrating an example of components in a host server 400 for cloud-based services and storage accounts, the host server including a people search engine facilitating identification of users as search results responsive text-searching. The host server 400 can be host server 100 of FIG. 1 although alternative configurations are possible.

The host server 400 of the web-based or online collaboration environment can generally be a cloud-based service. The host server 400 can include, for example, a network interface 402, an activity detector 405 having an activity tracker 406, an activity performance engine 410, a content search engine 420, and a user interface module 430 having a search results module 435. The host server 400 can also include, for example, a people search engine 500. Additional or less components/modules/engines can be included in the host server 400 and each illustrated component. Further, although illustrated as included as part of the host server 400, the components/modules/engines can be physically and/or functionally distributed.

The network interface 402 can be a networking module that enables the host server 400 to mediate data in a network with an entity that is external to the host server 100, through any known and/or convenient communications protocol supported by the host and the external entity. The network interface 402 can include one or more of a network adaptor card, a wireless network interface card (e.g., SMS interface, WiFi interface, interfaces for various generations of mobile communication standards including but not limited to 1G, 2G, 3G, 3.5G, 4G, LTE, etc.), Bluetooth, a router, an access point, a wireless router, a switch, a multilayer switch, a protocol converter, a gateway, a bridge, bridge router, a hub, a digital media receiver, and/or a repeater.

As used herein, a “module,” “a manager,” a “handler,” a “detector,” an “interface,” or an “engine” includes a general purpose, dedicated or shared processor and, typically, firmware or software modules that are executed by the processor. Depending upon implementation-specific or other considerations, the module, manager, hander, or engine can be centralized or its functionality distributed. The module, manager, hander, or engine can include general or special purpose hardware, firmware, or software embodied in a computer-readable (storage) medium for execution by the processor. As used herein, a computer-readable medium or computer-readable storage medium is intended to include all mediums that are statutory (e.g., in the United States, under 35 U.S.C. 101), and to specifically exclude all mediums that are non-statutory in nature to the extent that the exclusion is necessary for a claim that includes the computer-readable (storage) medium to be valid. Known statutory computer-readable mediums include hardware (e.g., registers, random access memory (RAM), non-volatile (NV) storage, to name a few), but may or may not be limited to hardware.

One embodiment of the host server 400 includes the activity detector 405 which can detect an activity (or action) in the web-based collaboration environment. The detected activity can be performed by (or initiated by) a user or collaborator in a work space and can be performed on a work item or relating to a work item, for example, download or upload of the work item, previewing, commenting of a work item, deletion or editing of the work item, commenting on a work item, identifying, selecting, adding, deleting, saving, editing, and modifying a tag in the work item, setting or changing permissions of the work item, sharing the work item including, for example, emailing a link to the work item, embedding a link to the work item on another website.

The types of activities that can be detected can also relate to changes to a work space, such as adding, deleting, or modifying collaborators in the work space; changes to work items such as adding, deleting a work item in the work space; creating a discussion topic in the work space, adding a response to a discussion topic, deleting a response, or editing a response in the work space.

In one embodiment, the activity detector 405 includes an activity tracker 406 configured to track the activity performed on the work item and the corresponding user or collaborator that initiated or performed the activity on the work item. In one embodiment, the activity tracker 406 can create and/or otherwise maintain metadata for each of the content items in the web-based collaboration environment responsive to actions (activity) being performed on those content items. The metadata can include various collaborator information. For example, if a new file is uploaded by user A, the content item indicating the new file can also indicate that the new file was upload by user A. Likewise, if the new file is edited by a user B, then the activity tracker 406 can maintain the metadata such the metadata indicates the user B edited the new file. A repository (not shown) such as, for example, repository 130 of FIG. 1 can include content items uploaded to the web-based collaboration environment and associated metadata.

One embodiment of the host server 400 includes the activity performance engine 410 which can perform the activity in the cloud-based collaboration environment. For example, a user can identify the files, content, or work items to be uploaded, downloaded, accessed, edited, and/or otherwise performed by the host server 400.

One embodiment of the host server 400 includes the content search engine 420 which can perform text-based content searches of content items to identify content items relevant to a search request received from a user or collaborator in the cloud-based collaboration environment. For example, responsive to receiving a search request from a user or collaborator, the content search engine 420 can search content items uploaded to the web-based collaboration environment (e.g., content items stored in a repository (not shown) such as, for example, repository 130 of FIG. 1) to identify one or more content items that are relevant to the search request. Each of the relevant content items can be associated with metadata including collaborator information.

One embodiment of the host server 400 includes the user interface module 430, which can preserve or enhance user experience. For example, the user interface module 430 can allow the user to engage in a variety of activities in the collaboration platform including providing search results via a search results module 435. In one embodiment, the search results module 435 can provide search results to a user or collaborator of the cloud-based collaboration environment. As described herein, the search results can include users and/or collaborators of the system in addition to, or in lieu of, content

One embodiment of the host server 400 includes the people search engine 500 which can facilitate identification of users as search results responsive text-searching. The people search engine 500 is discussed in greater detail with reference to FIG. 5.

FIG. 5 depicts a block diagram illustrating an example of components in a people search engine 500 for facilitating identification of users as search results responsive to a text-based content search. The people search engine 500 can be, for example, the people search engine 150 of FIG. 1, although alternative configurations are possible.

The people search engine 500 can include, for example, a metadata processing module 510 and a collaborator selection module 520. The metadata processing module 510 can include a collaborator extraction engine 512 and an action extraction engine 514. The collaborator selection module 520 can include a collaborator ranking engine 522 and an action weighting engine 524. Additional or less components/modules/engines can be included in people search engine 500 and each illustrated component.

One embodiment of the people search engine 500 includes the metadata processing module 510 which is configured to receive relevant content items and associated metadata including collaborator information from a content search engine such as, for example, content search engine 420 of FIG. 4. The people search engine 500 process the metadata to extract and/or parse the collaborator information using the collaborator extraction engine 512. Similarly, the people search engine 500 can process the metadata to extract and/or parse the actions associated with the particular relevant content items. An example of the content item metadata that can be associated with relevant content items is illustrated and discussed in greater detail with reference to FIG. 6A.

One embodiment of the people search engine 500 includes the collaborator selection module 520 which is configured to process the collaborator information associated with the relevant content items to select collaborators for inclusion in the search results. In one embodiment, the collaborator ranking engine 522 ranks the collaborators based on, for example, a quantity of relevant content items that are created, edited, etc., by the associated collaborator. An example of action weighting is illustrated and discussed in greater detail with reference to FIG. 6B.

FIGS. 6A and 6B depict tables 600 and 650 graphically illustrating example metadata associated with content items and example action weighting, respectively.

Referring first to FIG. 6A which illustrates a relevant content item table 600 including metadata associated with various relevant content items. The example of FIG. 6A illustrates the contents of each relevant content item, according to an embodiment. Additional or less information may be included in the metadata. Although not shown for simplicity, the metadata may be formatted in any known manner.

In the example of FIG. 6A, various columns are shown for content item ID, content item type, and collaborator information. Additional or less information can be provided. However, in this example, each content item is represented by a content item ID. The additional columns indicate metadata information associated with that content item. As discussed, the system can track collaborator information. The collaborator information can include, for example, the owner of a content item, editors of a content item, etc. As discussed herein, the collaborator information can be utilized to determine the collaborators that are relevant to a given content search. For example, as shown, content item “#57” is a text document that was uploaded by user B, edited by user A, and subsequently read or accessed by user C and user D.

Referring next to FIG. 6B which illustrates various actions associated with content items and associated weights that can be applied. Although various weights are shown in the example is of FIG. 6B, any weights can be applied to the various actions. In this example, a user that uploads a content item is given the highest weight of “10” while a user that reads/accesses a content item is given a weight of “2.”

Accordingly, to identify users or collaborators that are relevant to a particular content search, the system first determines relevant content items and then processes the metadata associated with the relevant content items to identify the users or collaborators associate with the relevant content items. In one embodiment, the actions that each of the collaborators take with respect to the relevant content items can be weighted and thus used to rank the most relevant users or collaborators (e.g., those with the highest scores).

As illustrated in the example of FIG. 6B, the system a user that uploads a document might have the most knowledge about that document and thus that user would be more relevant than another user that merely edited a document. Accordingly, a higher weight can be applied to an upload action than an edit or access action.

FIG. 7 depicts a flow diagram illustrating an example process 700 for tracking actions performed on content items in a cloud-based collaboration environment. Process 700 may be performed by a host server such as, for example, host server 100 of FIG. 1 or host server 400 of FIG. 4.

In process 702, the host server receives an action associated with a particular content item. For example, the host server may receive an upload request or an edit request (e.g., an action) for a particular text-based document (e.g., a content item). In process 704, the host server identifies the associated content item and a collaborator (or user) associated with the action. In one embodiment, the content item can be identifiable using a content item identifier (ID). Lastly, in process 706, the host server accesses and updates (or creates) metadata associated with the content item to indicate the user and action performed by the user.

FIG. 8 depicts a flow diagram illustrating an example process 800 for identifying and providing collaborators (or users) as search results in a collaborative cloud-based collaboration environment. Process 800 may be performed by a host server such as, for example, host server 100 of FIG. 1 or host server 400 of FIG. 4.

In process 802, the host server receives a search request from a first collaborator (or user). The search request can be, for example, a text-based key word search and/or a semantics-based search. In process 804, the host server performs a text-based content search of content items to identify relevant content items, wherein each content item is associated with metadata including collaboration information. As discussed above, the host server can track actions performed on content items in the cloud-based collaboration environment and responsively update metadata associated with the content items and actions.

In process 806, the host server processes the collaborator information for the relevant content items to select relevant collaborators for inclusion in the search results. An example process for selecting the relevant collaborators for inclusion in the search results is discussed in greater detail in example process 900 of FIG. 9.

At process 808, the host server provides the search results including the relevant collaborators (users) for inclusion in the search results. In one embodiment, the host server first determines the type of search results to provide the requesting (or initiating) user (i.e., the user initiating the search request). The type of search results provided can be configurable via a user interface by each user of the collaborative cloud-based collaboration environment. For example, the user can request that the search results include only the relevant collaborators. Alternatively, the user can request that the search results include both the relevant collaborators and the relevant content items. Other search results may also be provided.

FIG. 9 depicts a flow diagram illustrating an example process 900 for processing metadata including collaborator information associated with a relevant content item in a collaborative cloud-based collaboration environment and selecting relevant collaborators for including in the search results.

In process 902, the host server extracts collaborator information from the metadata associated with the relevant content items. For example, the collaborator information can indicate collaborators and/or actions performed by collaborators within the collaborative cloud-based collaboration environment.

In process 904, the host server determines a relevance of the collaborators to the search request based on the corresponding collaborator information. In one embodiment, the relevance can be determined based on actions performed by the collaborators on the relevant content items. In one embodiment, the relevance of each of the collaborators is determined based on actions performed by the collaborators on the relevant content items. As discussed above, the system can track the actions performed on the content items in the cloud-based collaboration environment.

In one embodiment, processing the collaborator information for the relevant content items to identify the relevant collaborators further comprises applying a weight to each of the actions based on a type of action performed. By way of example, and not limitation, the actions could include create or upload a content item, edit or modify a content item, and read or access a content item.

In process 906, the host server ranks the collaborators based on relevance. For example, the host server may rank collaborators based on a quantity of the relevant content items that are created by the associated collaborator or by the highest relevant scores including weighted scores attributable to specific actions.

Lastly, in process 908, the host server selects the relevant collaborators for inclusion in the search results. For example, the host server can select the relevant collaborators for inclusion in the search results based on the relevance of the collaborators.

FIG. 10 illustrates a diagrammatic representation of a machine in the example form of a computer system within which a set of instructions, for causing the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, may be executed.

In alternative embodiments, the machine operates as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networked deployment, the machine may operate in the capacity of a server or a client machine in a client-server network environment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment.

The machine may be a server computer, a client computer, a personal computer (PC), a user device, a tablet PC, a laptop computer, a set-top box (STB), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, an iPhone, an iPad, a Blackberry, a processor, a telephone, a web appliance, a network router, switch or bridge, a console, a hand-held console, a (hand-held) gaming device, a music player, any portable, mobile, hand-held device, or any machine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine.

While the machine-readable medium or machine-readable storage medium is shown in an exemplary embodiment to be a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” and “machine-readable storage medium” should be taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one or more sets of instructions. The term “machine-readable medium” and “machine-readable storage medium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution by the machine and that cause the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies of the presently disclosed technique and innovation.

In general, the routines executed to implement the embodiments of the disclosure, may be implemented as part of an operating system or a specific application, component, program, object, module or sequence of instructions referred to as “computer programs.” The computer programs typically comprise one or more instructions set at various times in various memory and storage devices in a computer, and that, when read and executed by one or more processing units or processors in a computer, cause the computer to perform operations to execute elements involving the various aspects of the disclosure.

Moreover, while embodiments have been described in the context of fully functioning computers and computer systems, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various embodiments are capable of being distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that the disclosure applies equally regardless of the particular type of machine or computer-readable media used to actually effect the distribution.

Further examples of machine-readable storage media, machine-readable media, or computer-readable (storage) media include, but are not limited to, recordable type media such as volatile and non-volatile memory devices, floppy and other removable disks, hard disks, optical disks (e.g., Compact Disk Read-Only Memory (CD ROMS), Digital Versatile Disks, (DVDs), etc.), among others, and transmission type media such as digital and analog communication links.

The network interface device enables the machine 700 to mediate data in a network with an entity that is external to the host server, through any known and/or convenient communications protocol supported by the host and the external entity. The network interface device can include one or more of a network adaptor card, a wireless network interface card, a router, an access point, a wireless router, a switch, a multilayer switch, a protocol converter, a gateway, a bridge, bridge router, a hub, a digital media receiver, and/or a repeater.

The network interface device can include a firewall which can, in some embodiments, govern and/or manage permission to access/proxy data in a computer network, and track varying levels of trust between different machines and/or applications. The firewall can be any number of modules having any combination of hardware and/or software components able to enforce a predetermined set of access rights between a particular set of machines and applications, machines and machines, and/or applications and applications, for example, to regulate the flow of traffic and resource sharing between these varying entities. The firewall may additionally manage and/or have access to an access control list which details permissions including for example, the access and operation rights of an object by an individual, a machine, and/or an application, and the circumstances under which the permission rights stand.

Other network security functions can be performed or included in the functions of the firewall, can be, for example, but are not limited to, intrusion-prevention, intrusion detection, next-generation firewall, personal firewall, etc. without deviating from the novel art of this disclosure.

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense, as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of “including, but not limited to.” As used herein, the terms “connected,” “coupled,” or any variant thereof, means any connection or coupling, either direct or indirect, between two or more elements; the coupling of connection between the elements can be physical, logical, or a combination thereof. Additionally, the words “herein,” “above,” “below,” and words of similar import, when used in this application, shall refer to this application as a whole and not to any particular portions of this application. Where the context permits, words in the above Detailed Description using the singular or plural number may also include the plural or singular number respectively. The word “or,” in reference to a list of two or more items, covers all of the following interpretations of the word: any of the items in the list, all of the items in the list, and any combination of the items in the list.

The above detailed description of embodiments of the disclosure is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the teachings to the precise form disclosed above. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the disclosure are described above for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the disclosure, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize. For example, while processes or blocks are presented in a given order, alternative embodiments may perform routines having steps, or employ systems having blocks, in a different order, and some processes or blocks may be deleted, moved, added, subdivided, combined, and/or modified to provide alternative or subcombinations. Each of these processes or blocks may be implemented in a variety of different ways. Also, while processes or blocks are at times shown as being performed in series, these processes or blocks may instead be performed in parallel, or may be performed at different times. Further, any specific numbers noted herein are only examples: alternative implementations may employ differing values or ranges.

The teachings of the disclosure provided herein can be applied to other systems, not necessarily the system described above. The elements and acts of the various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments.

Any patents and applications and other references noted above, including any that may be listed in accompanying filing papers, are incorporated herein by reference. Aspects of the disclosure can be modified, if necessary, to employ the systems, functions, and concepts of the various references described above to provide yet further embodiments of the disclosure.

These and other changes can be made to the disclosure in light of the above Detailed Description. While the above description describes certain embodiments of the disclosure, and describes the best mode contemplated, no matter how detailed the above appears in text, the teachings can be practiced in many ways. Details of the system may vary considerably in its implementation details, while still being encompassed by the subject matter disclosed herein. As noted above, particular terminology used when describing certain features or aspects of the disclosure should not be taken to imply that the terminology is being redefined herein to be restricted to any specific characteristics, features, or aspects of the disclosure with which that terminology is associated. In general, the terms used in the following claims should not be construed to limit the disclosure to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification, unless the above Detailed Description section explicitly defines such terms. Accordingly, the actual scope of the disclosure encompasses not only the disclosed embodiments, but also all equivalent ways of practicing or implementing the disclosure under the claims.

While certain aspects of the disclosure are presented below in certain claim forms, the inventors contemplate the various aspects of the disclosure in any number of claim forms. For example, while only one aspect of the disclosure is recited as a means-plus-function claim under 35 U.S.C. §112, ¶6, other aspects may likewise be embodied as a means-plus-function claim, or in other forms, such as being embodied in a computer-readable medium. (Any claims intended to be treated under 35 U.S.C. §112, ¶6 will begin with the words “means for”.) Accordingly, the applicant reserves the right to add additional claims after filing the application to pursue such additional claim forms for other aspects of the disclosure. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for identifying collaborators as search results in a collaborative cloud-based collaboration environment, the method comprising: performing a text-based content search of a plurality of content items to identify content items relevant to a search request received from a first collaborator of a plurality of collaborators in the cloud-based collaboration environment, wherein each of the relevant content items is associated with metadata including collaborator information; and processing the collaborator information associated with the relevant content items to identify collaborators for inclusion in the search results.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving the search request from the first collaborator; and responsive to receiving the search request, providing the search results including the relevant collaborators to the first collaborator.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the search results are provided for electronic display to the first collaborator.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein processing the collaborator information associated with the relevant content items to identify the relevant collaborators further comprises: extracting the collaborator information from the metadata associated with the relevant content items; and determining a relevance of each of the collaborators to the search request based on the corresponding collaborator information.
 5. The method of claim 4, further comprising: selecting relevant collaborators for inclusion in the search results based on the relevance of each of the collaborators.
 6. The method of claim 4, wherein the relevance of each of the collaborators is determined based on actions performed by the collaborators on the relevant content items.
 7. The method of claim 6, further comprising: tracking the actions performed on the plurality of content items in the cloud-based collaboration environment, wherein processing the collaborator information for the relevant content items to identify the relevant collaborators further comprises applying a weight to each of the actions based on a type of action performed.
 8. The method of claim 6, wherein the actions include create or upload a content item, edit or modify a content item, and read or access a content item.
 9. The method of claim 4, wherein determining the collaborator relevance further comprises: ranking collaborators based on a quantity of the relevant content items that are created by the associated collaborator.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the content search comprises a text-based key word search.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the content search comprises a semantics-based search.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the search results further include the relevant content items.
 13. A method for selecting users of a cloud-based system as search results, the method comprising: performing a text-based content search of a plurality of content items to identify content items relevant to a search request received from a first user of a plurality of users of the cloud-based system, wherein each of the relevant content items is associated with metadata including user information; and processing the user information associated with the relevant content items to select relevant users for inclusion in the search results.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the relevant users are selected based on a corresponding ranking that indicates a quantity of the relevant content items that are associated with that user.
 15. The method of claim 13, further comprising: receiving the search request from the first user; and responsive to receiving the search request, providing the search results including the relevant users to the first user.
 16. The method of claim 13, wherein processing the user information associated with the relevant content items to identify the relevant users further comprises: extracting the user information from the metadata associated with the user content items; determining relevance of each of the users to the search request based on the corresponding user information; and selecting relevant users for inclusion in the search results based on the relevance of each of the users.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the relevance of each of the users is determined based on actions performed by the users on the relevant content items.
 18. The method of claim 17, further comprising: tracking the actions performed on the plurality of content items in the cloud-based system, wherein processing the user information for the relevant content items to identify the relevant users further comprises applying a weight to each of the actions based on a type of action performed by the user.
 19. The method of claim 17, wherein the actions include create or upload a content item, edit or modify a content item, and read or access a content item.
 20. The method of claim 16, wherein determining the user relevance further comprises: ranking users based on a quantity of the relevant content items that are created by the associated user.
 21. The method of claim 13, wherein the content search comprises one or more of: a text-based key word search or a semantics-based search.
 22. The method of claim 13, wherein the search results further include the relevant content items.
 23. A collaboration system comprising: a processor; a memory unit having instructions stored thereon which when executed by the processor, causes the collaboration system to: perform a text-based content search of a plurality of content items to identify content items relevant to a search request received from a first collaborator of a plurality of collaborators in the cloud-based system, wherein each of the relevant content items is associated with metadata including collaborator information; and process the collaborator information associated with the relevant content items to select collaborators for inclusion in search results.
 24. The collaboration system of claim 23, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further causes the collaboration system to: receive the search request from the first collaborator; and provide the search results including the relevant collaborators to the first collaborator responsive to receiving the search request, wherein the search results are provided for electronic display to the first collaborator.
 25. The collaboration system of claim 23, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further causes the collaboration system to: track the actions performed on the plurality of content items in the cloud-based collaboration environment.
 26. The collaboration system of claim 25, wherein processing the collaborator information for the relevant content items to identify the relevant collaborators further comprises: applying a weight to each of the actions based on a type of action performed.
 27. The collaboration system of claim 23, wherein processing the collaborator information associated with the relevant content items to identify the relevant collaborators further comprises: extracting the collaborator information from the metadata associated with the relevant content items; and determining a collaborator relevance of each of the collaborators to the search request based on the corresponding collaborator information.
 28. A machine-readable storage medium including executable instructions, which when executed by a processor, causes the processor to: perform a text-based content search of a plurality of content items to identify content items relevant to a search request received from a first collaborator of a plurality of collaborators in the cloud-based collaboration environment, wherein each of the relevant content items is associated with metadata including collaborator information; and process the collaborator information associated with the relevant content items to identify collaborators for inclusion in the search results. 